"He wasn't being recruited by any major schools when we offered him a scholarship," Butler Coach Brad Stevens said Wednesday. "Sometimes guys can get overshadowed a little bit in the process, and I think that's what happened with Shelvin."

Mack has found a home at Butler, a private school in Indianapolis.

The eighth-seeded Bulldogs are seeking their second consecutive trip to the Final Four after losing to Duke in last season's national championship game. But standing in the way at 9 tonight is No. 4 seed Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 at the New Orleans Arena.

Stevens said the Bulldogs are fortunate to have Mack. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior has scored in double figures in 26 of the past 28 games and became the fourth player in Butler history to make at least 200 3-pointers.

"Shelvin is happy to be a guy that helps facilitate things," Stevens said. "He's not a selfish person by any means. He felt like Butler was great fit for him, socially, academically and from a basketball standpoint. We were fortunate enough that he committed to it."

Stevens will be looking for Mack, Butler's all-time leading scorer in the NCAA Tournament (155 total points), to score against the Badgers. Mack's 30-point effort helped stun top-seeded Pittsburgh 71-70 last week.

"I always go back home to UK during summer and work out with those guys," Mack said. "They all treat me the same."

Mack could boast to his Kentucky friends that Butler is in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year and is 7-1 in its past eight tournament games. He could also crow about playing in a Final Four recently, which neither Louisville nor Kentucky can claim.

"It's been a great feeling," Mack said. "It's just a great accomplishment that I have in my life, able to overcome not being recruited by major schools."

Mack said he signed with Butler because he thought he could play right away. He started all 32 games as a freshman in 2008-09, finishing as the team's third-leading scorer with a 11.9 average. In last year's national championship game against Duke, he scored 12 points.

"He's smart, physical and gets the job done night in and night out," Taylor said. "Last year when Butler was making its tournament run, I thought Shelvin was a senior. I still can't believe he's just a junior."